Hungary said, on Thursday, April 4, that it would begin the procedure of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), just before Prime Minister Viktor Orban was to receive his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, the subject of an ICC arrest warrant. "Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court," Gergely Gulyas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, wrote in a brief statement. "The government will initiate the withdrawal procedure on Thursday, in accordance with the constitutional and international legal framework." The ICC is the world's only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide.

The announcement came as Netanyahu arrived in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, despite an international arrest warrant against him over his conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip. Hungary's government, led by the right-wing populist Orban, had extended the invitation to Netanyahu in November, after the ICC, based in the Hague, Netherlands, issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. Orban, a close Netanyahu ally, has called the arrest warrant "outrageously impudent" and "cynical."

Member countries of the ICC, such as Hungary, are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that and relies on states to comply with its rulings.